It’s supposed to make so much sense: just give the customers what they want. Of course it’s not that simple. Let’s break down what all customers seem to want, what all customers do want, and what all customers really want. A few no-brainers that customers say they always want: Lower prices … the number one answer Read More…
Month: February 2017
Selling Wine vs. Making Impact
Ask most wine sales reps, owners of wine bars, and owners of wine shops what they do and many will answer “I sell wine.” Selling wine is being an order taker. Selling wine is about making tall stacks and grabbing the end cap. Selling wine is about following benign metrics such as “POD” (points of Read More…
A simple wine by the glass formula
Designing a wine by the glass list does not have to be rocket science and it does not need to be frustrating. Here is a straightforward formula and a few tips to make sure you cover all the bases. The Formula for a good by the glass list 50% or more of the wine list Read More…
Putting wine statements in context
The purpose of an in-store tasting at a wine retailer is not to show a ton of choices to the consumer. The purpose of joining a wine club is not the convenience of having four wines delivered every quarter and automatically charged to your credit card. The purpose of using good stemware in your restaurant is Read More…
Monday Challenge: Your Email Signature
This week’s challenge is easy to work through but long reaching in impact. It’s your email signature, and I’m sorry to say that it’s probably not optimized for 2017. Email signatures have grown in effectiveness and impact for one simple reason: more and more email clients and operating systems are using information from your emails to Read More…
What do you really DO?
Do you sell? Do you promote? Do you manage? Do you organize? Do you inspire? Do you solve problems? Do you react? Do you build? Do you hide? Do you tear down? Do you wait? Do you seek? Do you teach? What do you really do during the day? A good question for all of Read More…
Good habits: Increasing the value and impact of a wine sales presentation
As a wine wholesale rep, the biggest trap you can fall into is to sell wine exactly like most of your competition does. Watch the reps from other companies while they work. They make a ton of mistakes, constantly, yet those mistakes are often repeated by other reps. You can do better. Six simple habits to increase Read More…
Monday Challenge: How safe is your digital stuff?
The Monday Challenge is often about spurring readers to do something that takes little effort but with long term benefits. This week: assess the safety of your digital stuff. You can do this in easily by answering one question: can you take your laptop and throw it in a lake, never to see it again, and Read More…
The slow build to the big payoff
It’s February, so here’s a little challenge for everybody: What wine or wines can you place in a shop, or on a list, in front of customers right now, which you might hope to sell two bottles a week? Maybe three on a good week. Not a big seller. Nothing that will set the spreadsheet on fire. Read More…